COVID-19: Cavagna Group’s responses

Cavagna Group has been active since the beginning of the covid-19 emergency to protect the health of its people, which is the top priority for the company, as well as to enhance the production of its medical devices and to guarantee continuity of the energy supply chain, which is an essential service.

Outlined below are the details of the activities that have been put in place.

Emergency Management

• On February 23^rd 2020, after the news of the first contagions in Italy, an inter-functional team was formed, including the group’s strategic departments. The aims of this group were to follow the evolution of the emergency to guarantee the highest safety standards during working hours, to give continuity to the supply of its products and to protect the supply chain of medical devices and energy of which we are part.

• Subsequently, the team continued to monitor the situation in constant dialogue with the social partners and trade associations. Even today, maximum attention is being paid to the indications that come from the Authorities, the local Azienda di Tutela della Salute (ATS), Confindustria and Federchimica – Assogasliquidi.

• The Cavagna Group has opened a flow of constant communication with “Confindustria medical devices”, a spokesperson for the competent bodies for medical technology supplies of the Ministry of Health and with the Istituto Superiore di Sanità.

• We are in daily contact with our customers who are those engaged in the front line to deal with the growing request for medical oxygen linked to the emergency, used for medical devices and home patients, in order to plan and enhance our production output.

• We are discussing with the gas distribution companies (LPG and Natural Gas) in order to guarantee the continuity and safety of the operation of the transport and distribution networks in the supply of energy to homes and businesses.

Staff Protection, Safety and Welfare

• As early as the end of February 2020, the Cavagna Group has planned agile work for a large part of its employees as a precaution, thus limiting the risks of direct contact in the offices;

• In direct collaboration with H&S Manager and Occupational Physician, internal safety protocols were adopted, anticipating what would have been the measures envisaged in the protocol of March 22^nd and the following ones. Among which:

– suspension of all domestic and international transfers and attendance at external training activities;

– the reduction of on-site meetings and replaced with virtual meeting methods;

– distancing in the main gathering places of the company, and subsequent closure of these;

– All the Group’s Italian employees were provided with specific PPE;

– some company spaces have been restructured to allow greater spacing in the offices;

– daily self-measurement of body temperature and daily body temperature measurement at the headquarter entrances have been arranged for all the Group’s Italian employees;

– especially during the peak of the epidemic, organized rotation and / or advance leave / leave arrangements have been adopted, in cases where it was possible to do so, to lighten the physical presence in the various company departments;

– a COVID-19 health insurance policy was activated for all the Group’s Italian employees.

• From the 9^th of March, a process of gradual extension to all group companies in the world of agile working methods began, excluding essential face-to-face activities, aimed at guaranteeing business continuity;

• Together with the implementation of the relevant governmental decrees, the Cavagna Group has complied with the various provisions of the Protocol signed by the government and the social partners on March 14^th 2020, however these were already largely covered by the internal protocols adopted since the end of February;

• The physical presence in the factories was brought to the necessary minimum to guarantee the essential production chains;

• In compliance with the Decree of 22^nd of March, the production activities carried out in Italy of the subsidiary of the Cavagna Group (Bigas International Autogas Systems S.r.L. and Greengear Global Srl) have been suspended during the lockdown, giving continuity only to the functions possible in smart working mode. The other offices located in the Brescia area have maintained production operations by also studying new organizational methods; a daily sanitization plan for the workplace was also adopted;

• The production capacities of the medical devices lines have been increased (with particular reference to products for oxygen therapy) and the continuity of the products supplied for the energy supply chain have been guaranteed, always compliant with the highest standards of protection and health prevention;

• After the lockdown period ordered by the Chinese authorities, the Chinese subsidiary ZhongShan Cavagna Gas Control System Co. Ltd. has reopened, always in compliance with the required safety standards.

• All of the Group’s foreign offices have maintained production operations, in compliance with the safety regulations in force in their respective countries.

Engagement and Training

• The management communicates regularly with internal Trade Union Representation, social partners and with all of its people in Italy and abroad, by email and posting on the bulletin board. The use of company broadcast lists for direct communication on WhatsApp with all employees has also been enhanced.

ICT

• The remote management systems were immediately secured with adequate precautionary measures;

• The Group has taken steps to ensure agile work by strengthening its network;

• Through systems such as Akamai, SonicWall and Office365, the company has allowed more than 200 group collaborators, from Thailand to the USA and from Italy to the UK, to work remotely, guaranteeing access to systems and daily operations;

• Taking advantage of the functionality of the applications such as meetings and chats, it facilitated virtual meetings to give continuity to the business and regular customer support;

• A gradual replacement of all desktop computers with portable devices has been initiated in order to allow Cavagna Group’s employees to comply with a more mobile workplace.

Initiatives at the time of Covid-19

• The Cavagna Group has joined the “Innova for Italy” project, a joint initiative of the Ministry for technological innovation and digitization, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of University and Research. It participates with its own valves with digital pressure gauge and equipped with LoraWAN IoT system for data transmission, which allows the monitoring of oxygen cylinders, in order to contribute to the prevention, treatment and control of the Covid-19.

• The Group also responded to “Isinnova”’s request for the construction of valves obtained with its own 3D printers, to contribute to the batch of 500 valves requested by hospitals in the Brescia area; the supply is part of the original project of this engineering firm that has adapted snorkeling masks as emergency respirators.

• On Monday the 25^th of May, the Cavagna Group /Copagaz /Greengear/ UFMS (Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul) Hospital project was inaugurated in Brazil. In Mato Grosso do Sul Hospital there was the idea and need to set up a temporary area for hygiene purposes for the staff of the hospital, including bathing areas and dressing rooms. These are set up in 4 shipping containers, outside of the hospital, powered by a Copagaz tank and Greengear LPG powered generators; they are kept washed and sanitized thanks to a Greengear LPG high powered pressure washer.